Trade-In Value of a 2006 Honda Civic - $13,075
Trade-In Value of a 2005 BMW 325i - $15,865
Trade-In Value of a 2002 Toyota 4Runner - $7,990

In the auto industry, the Kelley Blue Book helps individuals determine the value of their car. It's a standard set by the auto industry to ensure fair trade-in or re-sell value.

For most industries, there is a similar resource or benchmark to the blue book. The process of establishing a fair market price varies depending on the product, industry, regulations and more.

In the pharmaceutical industry, we have the average wholesale price or AWP. This standard helps determine what doctors, insurance companies and individual patients pay for physician-administered drugs.

However, in terms of AWP, the biggest issue is that the federal government doesn't regulate or set the AWP. Instead, the government entrusts the task to pharmaceutical companies - and we've all seen on Wall Street what happens when the government fails to regulate.

This leaves an alarming loophole for inflation and price gauging - the bases of an important case we've been pushing for years.

Recently we reached a major milestone on behalf of consumers and third-party payors nationwide when a federal judge certified two nationwide classes in the average wholesale price litigation. The National Law Journal ran a story on the ruling, which sets an important precedent.

We now have the opportunity to bring AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb, the named defendants in the case, to court on behalf of millions of people across the country. For years, these companies grossly inflated the prices of cancer fighting drugs - costing millions to patients and insurance companies, our claim alleges.

Over the course of the last eight years, the spread on the drugs in question range from 27 percent to more than 1000 percent - resulting in extraordinary prices to consumers, insurance providers and Medicare, according to court documents.

The first class certified in the ruling is the Medigap Class. This includes all third-party payors who made reimbursements for Medicare Part B covered drugs based on the AWP. The second class includes all third-party payors whose reimbursements contracts were based on AWP.

This is significant because we've been working on this case for years in Massachusetts. Some defendants have settled while others went to trial. Following a trial last November, the court ordered the same defendants - AstraZeneca and BMS - to pay $14 million to insurance companies and consumers solely in the state of Massachusetts.

Now, Judge Saris has allowed us to bring the same allegations to a national level - vastly expanding the class base and potential damages.

As the case progresses, we'll make updates on this blog and to hbsslaw.com - so check back regularly